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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. charge — in control
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cap — a lid
  17. charge — a price
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. land — to come down
  20. toast — bread
  21. cold — not warm
  22. charge — electricity
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. bore — to tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com